


Birthday

by Raufnir



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Birthday, Birthdays, Cute, F/M, Fluff, Gift for a friend, Other, Sweet, present, unedited, wrote this in one go
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-02
Updated: 2017-04-02
Packaged: 2018-10-14 04:55:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10529382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raufnir/pseuds/Raufnir
Summary: Gladio gets the reader's number from Iggy and surprises them with a request.Written for a friend I met on Tumblr for her birthday. She's awesome.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [VegeTali](https://archiveofourown.org/users/VegeTali/gifts).



 

You were sure no one would remember. After all, you worked so hard, and yet none of your colleagues at the palace really took the time to appreciate how much you did for them, let alone ask you personal questions like ‘when’s your birthday?’.

You sighed. Your apartment was empty and cold. You’d forgotten to turn the heating on that morning, and the rooms were chilly. You slouched into the kitchen and opened the fridge. Ugh. Almost empty, except for two eggs and some milk. And something that might have been tofu, like, six weeks ago.

Feeling very uninspired, you headed back to the sofa and flopped down on it. “Gods,” you murmured. “I could use a drink.” It was rare for you to fancy alcohol, but tonight, maybe a sweet white wine would hit the spot.

You frowned when a noise disturbed the usual quiet of your apartment. Your phone? Surely they couldn’t need you back at the palace at this hour? It was almost midnight. You glanced at the clock on the wall and felt all the energy drain out of you. 11.55pm.

Summoning the last of your willpower, you headed back to where you’d ditched your bag in the hallway. Your phone was ringing, and you drew it out to see an unknown number on the screen. “Hello?” you said, your voice husky and tired.

“Hey,” a deep baritone said on the other end. He sounded nervous, but you knew who it was. You’d heard him talking to Ignis earlier that day. He’d rarely spoken to you though. You’d spent half the evening eyeing him up at a royal function, and you’d swear that almost any time you’d dared look at him, he’d had his amber eyes locked on you, but still…

“Um, hello?”

“Sorry,” he mumbled. “Look, it’s Gladiolus. Iggy gave me your number. I hope you don’t mind…”

“No,” you stuttered, your heartbeat clanging in your ears. Why the hell was the prince’s shield phoning you? And at this hour as well?

“So,” he said. “Um, I know we’ve not spoken much… but Iggy says you’re… well.. that you’re cool… but I’ve never really got the chance to speak to you much.”

“No, we’ve not spoken much…” you said, feeling rather pathetic for not coming up with a better response.

“So, I was wondering if I could…”

“Yeah…?”

“Please don’t be freaked out or anything, but Iggy may have told me where your apartment is…”

Your eyes widened. You knew what he meant. You’re not stupid. He was outside. THE KING’S SHIELD IS OUTSIDE YOUR APARTMENT.

Panicking, you looked frantically around your small set of rooms. Nothing embarrassing on display: no laundry etc. but the place does look kind of lifeless. Except for all the books. There are lots of books.

Gladio spoke your name. “You still there?”

“Yeah,” you croaked. “I’m here. You’re here?”

He coughed nervously. “Yeah. I mean, I was kinda passing by, but yeah, I’m here. Don’t worry if you’re busy or anything, or…” he swore. “Shit, it’s late. I’m sorry, you’re probably heading to bed or something. Look, forget it, ok?”

“No,” you burst. “No, it’s fine. I just got back from work anyway. Working a later shift to cover for a friend. You want to come in?”

“Yeah,” he said after a pause. “You sure that’s ok?”

“I’m sure. You know which building?”

“I’m outside…”

You gave the number of the apartment and told him to ring the buzzer. When it lit up and you let him in, you briefly wondered what the hell you were letting yourself in for. But then, a moment later, you heard his heavy footsteps in the corridor, and you forced yourself to swallow your nerves down. “Come on,” you hissed to yourself. “This is _Gladiolus_ for gods’ sake. How many times is this going to happen to you?”

You flitted to the mirror in the bathroom and made sure your hair and face were at least presentable. Even if there were bags under your eyes to rival Ignis' from how hard you'd been working lately, you didn’t look awful. In fact, miraculously after the day you’d had, you actually looked pretty damned fine.

The doorbell rang.

“Fuck,” you breathed. “Ok…”

You opened the latch, and there, _filling_ the doorway, was Gladiolus Amicitia.

“Hi,” you said, stepping back and opening the door so that he could step inside.

The huge man respectfully kicked off his boots and swallowed nervously. “So… I hope you don’t mind…”

“No. I mean, I’m surprised, but…” you shrugged, tossing him a casual smile. “I don’t mind at all.” You fixed your eyes on him and added, “I have to say I’m curious…”

The man you had seen striding confidently around the palace, making almost everyone shrink back off the crown prince with just a glance, suddenly looked kind of shy. “I… well, Iggy said it was your birthday tomorrow…”

“I didn’t know he knew,” you gasped.

Gladio surprised you with a big laugh that burst from his chest. “Iggy knows _everything._ ”

“True,” you admitted. Gladio was still hovering in the hallway. “You want to come in? Can I get you a drink? I’m afraid I don’t have much…”

“Water’s fine,” he smiled. While you got him a glass, he added, “I was wondering if maybe you’d like to, you know, go somewhere, do something for your birthday?”

“Me?”

“Well, I’m not gonna take someone _else_ out to celebrate your birthday,” he chuckled.

You blushed. “Right. Sure.”

“Hey,” he murmured, coming over and taking the water glass with a smile of thanks. “Seriously, I’d like to ask you out.”

“Like, on a date?” you spluttered, almost dropping the glass before you could give it to him.

“Yeah,” he rasped. He was wearing that tank top that showed his arms off to excellent advantage, and you almost forgot how to speak.

“Sure. I’d like that,” you smiled, remembering that this might be your only chance to get the future king’s shield out on a date. You moved back to the sink and decided to get yourself something to drink. If your hips sway a little as you walk, well…

When you turned back around, the shield’s eyes were burning quietly, fixed on your figure. “Awesome,” he breathed. “You mind if I surprise you?”

You shook your head. And tried hard not to watch the way his lips and throat worked as he drank the water down in one go.

“Great,” he grinned. It was one of those broad, white, happy grins that made you smile too. He set the empty glass back down on the counter. “Look, I’ll let you get some sleep, but first...” he glanced at the clock on your wall and stepped closer.

So close you could smell the scent of his skin, the warm leather and steel smell that you just _knew_ he’d have. Mixed with a warmer, spicier scent, almost like cinnamon, that made your head spin.

He bit his lower lip and looked down at you. He looked down at everyone, but in that moment, you felt like Gladio was looking at you like no one else had ever existed. “I know it’s forward, but may I kiss you?”

You nodded mutely, and he smiled. It was a half-smile, a lopsided smile, a cheeky expression that spoke volumes of his almost childish excitement. And then his lips were gently brushing yours. He brought one hand to the back of your head and cupped it gently, working his fingers through your hair for just long enough to leave a heart-rending kiss before he stepped back, still smiling, and began to head for the door.

He put his boots back on without another word, and, when he was ready to leave, looked back over his shoulder and smirked. “See you tomorrow at the palace gates?”

“What time?” you managed to ask, scraping the fragments of your mind back together for just long enough to utter a short question.

“When do you finish work?”

“Five.”

“Be there at 17.05 then.”

You nodded, still feeling his lips on yours, his rough stubble scratching your chin, his strong hands so exquisitely gentle in your hair. “I’ll be there.”

His lopsided grin widened and became a genuinely _beaming_ smile of happiness. “Awesome,” he smiled. “Sleep well.”

 _If I sleep at all,_ you thought, your heart still racing as he closed the door behind him, leaving you alone in your apartment once again, and wondering if you’d hallucinated the whole thing. It had been a long day after all...

You didn’t know for sure that you _hadn’t_ until you saw him striding across the citadel at 17.04 the next day, beaming another smile at you. “Hey, birthday girl,” he called. “Let’s go!”

A couple of Glaives whistled at you, and, as you glanced nervously around, you saw Ignis lurking at the top of the stairs, sliding his phone back into his pocket. He bowed his head once at you as he retreated, and you thought you saw a smile on his lips, but the advisor was so damned hard to read, you couldn’t be certain.

You smiled, swallowed nervously, and then began to walk over to where the shield was waiting for you. Gods above, he looked _spectacular._ “Hey,” he smiled as you joined him. “You ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” you joked.

“Come on, you’re gonna love this. I just know it,” he said, glancing sideways at you, and giving you that smile again.

Heart clanging, you followed him, hardly believing your luck. And yes. Yes you were going to love it.

 

 


End file.
